DECONSTRUCTING MYTHS: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF "SADOMASOCHISM"
VERSUS "SUBJUGATED KNOWLEDGES" OF
PRACTITIONERS OF CONSENSUAL "SM"*

by

Andrea Beckmann
University of Lincolnshire & Humberside

ABSTRACT

The following paper is based on a critical criminological,
methodologically mainly qualitative, social research project that I
conducted during 1996 and 1997 in London's "Scene" of consensual
"SM." During this time I conducted unstructured, focused
interviews as well as participant observations within Scene-clubs that aimed
at exploring the "lived realities" of consensual "SM"
and its "subjugated knowledges." The paper contrasts the major
elements of the social construction of "Sadomasochism" that
medicalize and pathologize practitioners of this consensual "bodily
practice" with some of the findings of my empirical research within the
"Scene" that developed around consensual "SM" in London.
More specifically, the paper explores images, representations, and accounts
of "kinky sex" within popular culture as well as the various
motivations for engaging in consensual "SM" that were mentioned by
my informants and suggests that the motivations are not pathological or
peculiar but rather part of contemporary society’s "subterranean
values." The paper thus deconstructs the social construction of
"Sadomasochism" and opposes the selective criminalization of
consensual "SM" practice.

INTRODUCTION

Dominant discourses and ideologies of "sexuality" as well as of
"perversion" established "conditions of domination" (Foucault,
1990) that directly or indirectly produced individual and social
harm. The social construction of "sadomasochism" was part of the
"deployment of sexuality" which did not operate by means only of
repression but more effectively in terms of productive power relations working
throughout the whole social body. The discourses and practices comprising the
Western "scientia sexualis" (e.g., psychiatry, psychology, and
sexology) aimed at reproducing socio-political power relationships by means of
the authoritative character of the expert discourses that constituted the
"new species" of "perverts," one of which was the
"sadomasochist."

Psychopathia Sexualis, originally published in 1886 and written by
Richard von [End page 66] Krafft-Ebing (1886/1978), a Professor of Neurology, serves even today as a
basis for many definitions and meanings given to "sexuality" as well
as to "perversions." Krafft-Ebing’s a priori understanding of
the source of "perversions" was a belief in inherited
"deviant" sexual traits, which he illustrated with bizarre case
studies. His focus on the manifestations of "sadism" and
"masochism" was then combined with the morals and "sexual
ideals" of his time and could only result in a misunderstanding of
"sadism" and "masochism" as substitutes for "natural
sexuality."

Even though Krafft-Ebing considered, but never elaborated on, the possibility
that there could be a link, or rather a continuum, that reached from
"normal," heterosexual "horse-play" to "sadism,"
he still defined "sadism" as an experience of sexually pleasurable
sensations (including orgasm) that is produced by acts of cruelty, including
bodily punishment inflicted on one’s own person or witnessed. Although this
definition would also cover "masochism," as he stated that a
"sadist" could also gain sexual pleasure by infliction of pain on
his/her own body, he created the separate theoretical construct of
"masochism." The creation of this counterpart of "sadism"
probably stemmed from the stereotypical belief that sadism was a pathological
form of the "natural heterosexual relationship" and as women were
meant to be, and therefore seen as, passive, "sadism" had to represent
a pathological intensification of the "male sexual character." Since
"sadism" was envisioned as active, represented by the stereotype of
the "man," "masochism" had to be a predominantly
"feminine" characteristic or a sign of impotence. Krafft-Ebing’s
theories were thus completely determined by Victorian morals and stereotypes,
which impact even on contemporary etiological approaches.

The "paraphilia" of "sadomasochism" (a sub-category
within the classifications of "sexual pathology") constructs this
"bodily practice" as a "sexual compulsion," a "deviant
sexual trait" (Krafft-Ebing, 1886/1978) determined by either "sexual
impotence," a "weak sex drive" (e.g. Ellis,
1897/1901), or by
"deprived" and/or violent family backgrounds. Even in contemporary,
more "open" approaches, the association with a "sexual
disorder" and/or of a substitution of "natural, normal, mature,
genital sexuality" lingers on (e.g., Cowan, 1982; Keyes & Money,
1993).

In past and present, the social construction of "perversion," and
that of "sadomasochism" in particular, is always based on the
"relational distance" between the "sexual" behavior in
question and "normal coitus," the established norm of
"heterosexuality," as shown in the following example:

Non-coital sexual behavior on the part of sexually mature individuals may
be called abnormal only when it is practiced not just as an introduction to
or accompaniment of coitus but, despite opportunities for coitus, as the
exclusive or preferred form of behavior.

Then only can we speak of sexual
deviations. The [End page 67] further such behavior is removed
from normal coital behavior, the more immature it is, the more rigid its performance, the more passionate dependence there
is on it, the more justifiable it is to use the term perversion (Scharfetter,
1980: 257).

DEMYSTIFYING CONSENSUAL "SADOMASOCHISM"

Negative stereotypes of sadomasochism are translated into public policy.
Government action against our community is always taken in the name of
fighting violence; some even claim it is necessary for the cops to arrest us
to protect us from our own sexuality.

Califia holds the association of "SM" with mental illness
responsible for the social reactions with which practitioners of consensual
"SM" are confronted, such as "attempts to ban our literature,
harass or arrest people at our public events, or outlaw even the private
practice of bondage and S/M" (Califia
& Sweeney, 1996: xv). These social reactions
and actions of formal as well as informal agencies of social control are based
on the social construction of "Sadomasochism" and the connected
discursive constitution of the "Sadomasochist" with its implicit
positivistic notions of pathology and determinism.

The data collected during my fieldwork within the "Scene" of
consensual "SM" in London revealed that current representations of
"sexuality" as well as the "sexual" ambitions and practices
of members of mainstream society are not that different from many of those
stated by practitioners of consensual "SM," thus indicating the
existence of "subterranean values" (Matza
& Sykes, 1961). It was
Matza’s and Sykes’s ambition to reveal that there were and are many
continuities between the worlds of "delinquents" and/or
"deviants" and non-delinquents/deviants. They suggested that society
contains a sub-culture of "delinquency," in contrast to many
sub-cultures within a society. Although much of what follows confirms Matza's
and Sykes's premise, I will suggest that the operations of the system of
capitalist consumer society necessitated the development of a representational
system that "normalizes" what is designated to belong to a now
legitimized and exploited realm of "kinky sex," while still excluding
what is socially constructed as "perversion." As
"Sadomasochism" has become a site of political and legal power
struggles in contemporary times (e.g., in Britain especially after the R.
v. Brown case and the subsequent decision of the European Court of Human
Rights in 1997),1 an excursion into the representations of
"sexuality" and connected issues within the public sphere appear to be
important. These representations can crucially influence individual perceptions
and attitudes. [End page 68]

THE DISENCHANTED REALM OF THE "SEXUAL"

It seems that sex – its defining limits and its inter-personal
objectivity shot to hell – teeters on the brink of becoming a meaningless word; signifying
everything and meaning nothing.

The "sexual liberation" of the sixties enabled humans to notice and
throw off their inhibitions as well as making sexual freedom a civil liberty,
but it also brought negative results. Whereas the original aim was the
achievement of "authenticity" through sexual liberation, however that
was defined (e.g., in terms of essentialism), a shift in the opposite direction
occurred through the marketing of "sex." "[S]ex itself, it[s]
saturated external reality, [was] becoming part of mainstream culture. Sex as
image became far more significant than sex itself" (Grant, 1993:
264). The
consequences of this media and cultural "sex-overkill" may be
interpreted as leading to a "disenchantment" of the "sexual"
realm, as expressed by Baudrillard:

Nothing is less certain today than sex, behind the liberation of its
discourse. And nothing today is less certain than desire, behind the
proliferation of its images. When desire is entirely on the side of demand,
when it is operationalized without restrictions, it loses its imaginary and,
therefore, its reality; it appears everywhere but in generalized simulation
(1990: 5).

While "normalized sexuality" has been used in advertisements since
the so-called "Sexual Revolution" to market even the most unrelated
products, in recent years the exploitation of the "perversions" has
begun as capitalist consumerist societies require "innovation" to
generate the buyer’s desires and demands.

Language always lags behind visual symbols, and one need only look at today’s
fashion, advertising, or pop videos to realize that perviness pervades the mass
as well as the minority. Everywhere you look (and this is as true of continental
Europe, Japan, and the USA as it is of Britain), that which excites is that
which incorporates some undercurrent of erotic weirdness, decadence, or
perversity. The erotic, like everything else, is subject to fashion change –
the pendulum swinging between nature and artifice, sunlight and darkness,
normality and deviance, the girl/boy next door and the vampiric alien other
(These contrasts are all perfectly realized in David Lynch’s film Blue
Velvet) (Polhemus and Randall, 1994:
5). An example of this development in
the realm of marketing can be seen in the 1995 promotion of the perfume "Ma
Griffe," which was entitled "Leave Your Mark on a Man" and
presented the reader of magazines like NewWoman (Nov. 1995:
46-7)
with the sight of an exposed "male" back showing green scratch-marks
left by a woman’s long nails. [End page 69]

As exotic and/or bizarre objects, even "sexualities" that were
formerly constructed and thus perceived and treated as "deviant" and
were pathologized and/or criminalized, as has been the case with "Sadomasochism," are being
used to promote consumer products. In their winter promotion of 1996 (until
February 15, 1997), the company "Häagen-Dazs" advertised their ice
cream product using the slogan:

And in true "gender" coverage of the potential consumer groups,
Häagen-Dazs had a parallel advertisement:

DOMINANT MISTRESS

WANTS HÄAGEN-DAZS NOW

Any time of night between 10pm and 4am your demands can now be satisfied
with our new sensual flavor, Chocolate Midnight Cookies. Just call the
Hotline and insist we whip round with Häagen-Dazs, OR ELSE.

These suggestive and seductive representations of signifiers of
"Sadomasochism" in the competitive winter ice cream sale did not harm
the sale of "Häagen-Dazs" ice cream as these advertisements continued
to be used in various magazines within the United Kingdom. If the former meaning
ascribed to "Sadomasochism" had still applied, this promotion would
have used different signifiers; this once again shows a shift in the meaning,
and the rising acceptability in the public’s view, of the label
"kinky" or "kinky sex." This label, however, still excludes
constructed "Others" who are designated as practicing "real
perversions."

A similar approach to product promotion was applied by "Tango" soft
drinks with their advertisements on TV; the different flavors of these soft
drinks were characterized [End page 70] as being "deviant,"
"against family values," and so on. Moreover, the brewery
"Boddingtons" used the image of a black whip twisted round a full
glass of beer with the slogan, "The Cream of Manchester," for the 1996/97 promotion of
their beer in several magazines and newspapers sold within the United Kingdom.
The impressions an advertisement by "Clairol" is supposed to leave the potential
customer with are not hard to imagine:

YES! YES! YES! YES!

Introducing Herbal Essences

Start an affair with your hair.

A totally organic experience!

Unleash the powers of nature with these wonderful new shampoos and
conditioners. Unique combinations of organic herbs and botanicals blended
with mountain spring water. Its distinctive fragrances will stir your senses
to unparalleled heights.

The customer appears to be openly encouraged, if the advertisement is taken
literally, to follow a "deviant" career in hair "fetishism"
to obtain an organic (orgasmic?) experience. About ten years ago an
advertisement with this content would possibly have ruined the
"Clairol" company.

The "deployment of sexuality" penetrates nearly all areas of
everyday life and can thus be seen as responsible for the "widespread
dissatisfaction with our own sexual experiences, which somehow never seem to
live up to our culture’s extravagant myths of erotic fulfillment" (Polhemus
& Randall, 1994: 7). From a critical criminological perspective, the
potential effects of media proliferation can be explained with Mathiesen’s (1977) addition to Foucault’s notion of the "panopticon." The "panopticon"
describes the system of surveillance operating through the "gaze,"
which at first is merely external (through agents of social control), but
through internalization turns into the internal supervision of oneself.

In his essay "The Viewer Society," Thomas Mathiesen
(1997)
suggested that Foucault’s concept of the "panoptic" process needs to
be supplemented with its opposite, the "synopticon," and that these
processes operate in a reciprocal relationship with each other. Mathiesen sees
"synopticism," as well as "panopticism," as characteristic
to our Western societies, using these concepts to suggest that the situation in
which masses of people focus on a selected few represents the opposite of "panopticon"
and is embodied in the total system of modern mass media. The "synoptic
space" performs its visual and continuous power over masses of people
through an active process of filtering [End page 71] and shaping the
"informations" "within the context of a broader hidden agenda of
political or economic interests" (Mathiesen, 1997:
226).

The functions of control and discipline performed by "synoptic
space" can be best appreciated by emphasizing "the total Gestalt
produced by the messages of television," meaning an effect of broader enculturation in the population. Referring to
Enzensberger (1974) and Tuchman (1974), Mathiesen
(1997) states: "synopticism,
through the modern mass media in general and television in particular, first of
all directs and controls or disciplines our consciousness" (Mathiesen,
1997: 230). "Synopticon" thus functions in terms of social control
through inducing people to specific patterns of self-control and, I would add,
also by inducing specific patterns of desire and "sexuality," which
fit the requirements of consumerism. Although "lived bodies" are never
completely determinable, the effects of the "synopticon" should not be
underestimated as it serves a similar function to that formerly occupied by the
church: the need for escapism through the offerings of a televised "world
paradigm." Thus, the "synopticon" as a functional alternative to
the church works smoothly in communion with "panopticon" in the
prevention of critical thought: "surveillance, panopticon, makes us silent
about that which breaks fundamentally with the taken-for-granted because we are
afraid to break with it. Modern television, synopticon, makes us silent because
we do not have anything to talk about that might initiate a break" (Mathiesen,
1997: 231).

The influence of media on individual perceptions and expectations concerning
"sexuality" could thus be seen as the combined effect of "synopticon"
and "panopticon." The proliferation of "sexual ambitions"
and their pursuit extend further and further, so that in contemporary consumer
culture interest in "sex" is a must. As Sarah Litvinoff has written:

When we talk about sex we’re not talking about what goes on in
individual bedrooms, but about the acceptable public face of sex....and the
public face of sex in the Nineties is about very upfront sexual
gratification; anything goes with anyone. It’s a more hard-edged version
of the free love of the Sixties and Seventies. For everyone who is liberated
by this kind of attitude, there are others who are made unhappy because they
feel pressurized into acting in a way that they don’t want to. In today’s
sexual climate, you are assumed to have a problem if you are not
particularly into sex (quoted in Lacey, 1997: 1).

Through the commodification of "bodies" and their
"sexuality," the strict division of public and private broke down. In
1995, Annie Sprinkle toured the United Kingdom with a performance called
"My Body Is A Temple For A Multi-Media Whore," using her
"sexualized body" for artistic performances in public settings and
thus further eliminating the formerly rigid split between public and private. A
large proportion of the internet focuses on "sexuality" and thus
becomes potentially a new source for the further deployment of
"sexuality." "Stripping in cyberspace" serves as an income
for some: "Couples with a camera, a computer and access to the Internet . .
. earning thousands by getting on-line and getting it all off" (Gill, 1998:
13). The private/public boundary is blurred through these displays of
"authenticity" in "sexual exposure" which, in some respects,
appear like a reaction against the cult of the "sexual body image:"
"What a relief to find a real woman between all of those retouched
ones" (Gill, 1998: 13). The private/public line is further transgressed by
the interactions between some of the visitors to these websites and the women
and men who strip for them, as the strippers sometimes display themselves
according to suggestions made by viewers (Gill, 1998: 14). Gill further remarks
that this so-called "electronic streaking" is "hip" and easy
and that "tens of thousands of men and women" engage in this
cyberspace activity, which provides anyone with the chance of "15 megabytes
of fame" (Gill, 1998: 14). The so-called "net exhibitionists" see
their activities as positive not only for the viewer but also for themselves:
"Having a Web site changed their lives . . . . The Web now gives . . . the
anonymity to explore the dark side" (Gill, 1998:1 5).

Apart from various "normal sex" sites (i.e., the "Adult
Sites"), the internet provides plenty of resources for the "sexual
deviant." There are the "S&M News" (http://www.smnews.com/),
the "Erotic Punishment" website (http://www.4bdsm.com/pt =pmb1730/entrance.html),
the "IC: UK BDSM Directory" (http://www.informedconsent.co.uk/ubd/),
and the "SM: Safe Magic for Gay Men" (http://www.safersex.org/ssex/safemagic.html).
The list could go on and on as the internet is full of "sexual"
freesites.2 This technological development holds the potential for
positive change in terms of diminishing formerly rigid borderlines of exclusion.
Ken Plummer explored the growth and change of the "intimate" within
the borderless space of the modern media. Whereas in the nineteenth century
"sexual stories" were mass-printed in magazines, each of which would
be read by a separate audience, "the new electronic media have blurred
previously distinct spheres, such as those between men and women, young and old,
gay and straight, black and white, making once segregated worlds more
pervasively accessible" (as quoted in Weeks and Holland, 1996:
35)

Yet not all public representations are inclusive:

Fetish imagery has never been more common in music videos, haute couture,
and mass media. S/M is a talk-show staple and a reliable staple of crime
shows. While it’s nice to have people admire our clothes and to hear jokes
about [End page 73] handcuffs during prime time, these media
references too often include damaging and dangerous stereotypes about us.
When latex, leather, and metallic accessories are taken out of context, we
get ripped off so the viewers at home can be titillated (Califia &
Sweeney, 1996: xiv).

These effects of distortion that lead to a reinforcement of stereotypes of
"Sadomasochism" can also be seen in many "SM" movies:

Cinematic SM is twisted into the non-consenting, violent realm of the
unhinged that we know it is not. Fetishism is used as an excuse for a
bit of titillatory semi-nudity, or to identify the villain – the man in
black leather. Horror films, in particular, will happily throw in a leather
catsuit or a gratuitous bondage scene to spice up a mediocre script (Olley,
as quoted Woodward, 1993: 19).

Other movies that attempt to give a more authentic view of consensual
"SM" practice are rare: Nick Broomfield’s "Fetishes,"
which showed for two weeks in London during September, 1997, as well as
"Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist," a
documentary by Kirby Dick, which provides an insight into consensual
"SM" as a possibility for a reclaiming of "body,"
experienced and developed by a man who suffered from cystic fibrosis.

As movies and/or documentations that do not operate with and thus reinforce
negative, reductionist stereotypes about consensual "SM" are very much
in a minority and often are only shown in selected cinemas, the impact of
distorting representations of consensual "SM," like for example in the
movie 9 ½ Weeks, will remain strong. Sensationalism is the common
reaction towards performances like the "Jim Rose Freak Show," which
annually features as part of the "Edinburgh Festival" and even
advertises itself as a show of "freaks." Within this show "bodily
practices" that are part of "auto" and consensual "SM"
are performed for their shock value.

RISING INTEREST IN CONSENSUAL "SM" WITHIN
THE "GENERAL PUBLIC"

The rise of public interest in consensual "SM" within the last
decade is striking. In Britain, for example, the magazine Elle featured
an article called "The Dominatrix Next Door," which stated that
"the S&M scene has never been bigger" (Weese, 1994:
74). Although
1994 was the same year in which the "Spanner" trial3 ended
with the conviction of 16 men who had engaged in consensual "SM,"
making it publicly known that consensual "SM" bodily practices are
indirectly and selectively criminalized in the United Kingdom, "there are
thousands of ordinary couples" engaging in these practices (Weese, 1994:
71). "For many couples who practice S&M, the clubs provide a rare
opportunity to act out their fantasies in public. Others create their own
dungeons or [End page 74] torture chambers at home, keeping them locked
to avoid upsetting the children" (Weese, 1994: 71). In this feature the
journalist Sandra Weese conducted interviews with women who engaged in practices
that are labeled "Sadomasochism." Her first interviewee, who has been
married for 30 years, explained her motivations: "It wasn’t that we didn’t
have a good sex life, but after 10 years of marriage, we needed something to
spice it up" (Weese, 1994: 71). As culturally constructed ideas about
"sexuality" and fulfillment are constantly reinforced through the
diverse channels of the media, "routine in the bedroom" is a major
motivation for people to start experimenting with alternatives to the
"normal." The heightening of pleasure, excitement, a prolonged
foreplay, and the element of surprise are among the most appreciated features of
this couple’s (and surely many others, including some of the subjects in my
sample) experiences with consensual "SM." The interviewed woman summed
up:

S&M has definitely helped our marriage. But you have to maintain the
unexpected element – if we did this every time we went to bed, it would
become mundane, like normal sex. We still enjoy the candlelit dinners and
tender lovemaking, but now there’s so much more to our sex life. After 30
years, we are still getting to know each other and it is never dull (Weese,
1994: 71).

Another female interviewee told Weese that she was approached by a man, who
had a fetish, when she started to get into the "Scene." Later she met
her long-term partner, while she was looking for a "submissive"
partner for consensual "SM." Her search turned out to be quite easy
as:

A good dominatrix is not easy for a man to find. A lot of women do it for
the money but aren’t into it in their personal lives . . . . There are an
awful lot of married men out there who wish their wives would be dominant in
the bedroom. You only need to look inside a London telephone box to see all
those cards from men wanting to be spanked (Weese, 1994:
74).

Here another common motivation becomes apparent – the wish for
role-reversal. As the social construction of "masculinity" implies
that men’s "nature" determines that they play the active and
dominant part in "normal sexuality," consensual "SM"
provides a space for a release from the pressure of social and individually
internalized expectations under which a lot of men suffer. The interviewee’s
remark about London phone-boxes is valid and can be confirmed by the numerous
cards in the same phone-boxes from women offering to dominate men for money.

The magazine She (The
Sex You're Having Now, 1998: 53) published the results of its
December survey called "The Sex You’re Having Now," which asked its
female readership about how they [End page 75] felt about sex. The
average age of the respondents was 32 years and half of the survey population
had children. This survey showed that, for example, the use of "sex
toys" "to spice up your lovemaking" was integrated into sexual
encounters with their partners by 31 percent of the respondents. Apart from the
use of pornographic films as stimulus (47 percent) and anal sex (60 percent),
the respondents also made use of outfits: "Two thirds of respondents told
us that they like to wear PVC, rubber, or other kinky underwear to turn their
man on; 30 percent of you like wearing it on a night out, when just the two of
you know. Although 79 percent of you don’t fancy the idea of making love to a
man clad in women’s underwear, one in ten do – and love it . . . . 37
percent of you would love to try bondage provided you got to be in control . .
." (The Sex You're Having Now,
1998: 53).

COMMODIFIED "SADOMASOCHISM"

"[P]assive" and "masochistic" sexual fantasies and
practices, although seen as definitively "feminine," are at least
as frequently the experiences and practices of men. By a ratio of four to
one, Nancy Friday informs us, men’s fantasies are masochistic.

Apart from countering "moral feminist" concerns about the alleged
re-inscription of societal power positions through the "bodily
practices" of consensual "SM," at least in the case of men taking
part, these male fantasies and experiences are reflected in part by the many
related services offered by prostitutes in London’s busy city center. During
the months I stayed in London, I found the number of cards in phone-boxes that
offered professional "SM" services amazingly high. "Normal
sex" is comparatively rarely offered on these cards. As the cards (10-30
per phone-box) constantly get removed and then replaced, the business of
consensual "SM" prostitution must be a worthwhile one. The contents of
these cards reflect the desires of the men, who pay for the services offered. To
give an impression of an ordinary phone-box in central London, which gives some
indication of the "average" demand for "SM," I quote only a
few of those cards I collected:

These are "non-Scene" offers (although some professional "Dominatrixes"
frequent the clubs as well) of services that are obviously in demand within the
average "male" population, as "normal sex" offers are rare
in these London phone-boxes.

In a feature called "Destination: ‘Other World Kingdom’ – Holidays
a la de Sade" in the magazine MarieClaire, the reader was
encouraged to "imagine working in a holiday camp where the guests wait on
you hand and foot by day and spend the night in cages . . . . THE KINKY CASTLE.
Where women keep men in dungeons" (Connolly, 1998:
88). The setting for the
"Scene" thus described is the Czech Republic, where a 500 year old
castle serves as a space in which "European professional
males-turned-slaves [are] being whipped into submission by young attractive
women and, if they are lucky, by the queen herself" (Connolly, 1998:
88).
This package-holiday, which sounds like a reversal of the situation described in
The Story of O, attracts many businessmen who are willing to pay for the
almost "complete illusion of submission towards women" (Connolly,
1998: 88).

ENTERING THE "FIELD" OF CONSENSUAL "SM"

As "Sadomasochism" is behavior which is ascribed
(Kühl, 1981) on
the basis of a comparison with the myth of "natural sexuality," the
attempt to explain it in terms of physical or psychological deficiency would
only be valid if this behavior were not understandable to a sufficient degree
(Weber, 1949). My empirical field research on consensual "SM" clearly
showed motivations that are understandable and sufficient, especially with
regard to their "cultural background," in terms of reflecting
"subterranean values" (Matza and Sykes,
1961) that were largely
generated by the continuous demand for "innovation" to sell consumer
products and, further, through the socio-cultural emphasis on "safe
sex" after the emergence of AIDS. In order to contextualize the findings of
my research project to the reader, I will outline the methodological tools used
to conduct my research. [End page 77]

My approach could be located within the tradition of ethnographic fieldwork
and is also informed by feminist-inspired approaches to social research. During
the one year of social research in London, I conducted "unstructured
non-directive interviews" with sixteen interviewees, who were contacted
through "snowball sampling" and "relational outcroppings" (Lee, 1993:
68).4 The major advantage of unstructured, focussed
interviewing is the fact that it allows the interviewees to express their views
in terms of their own "frames of reference," thus providing the
possibility for the researcher to understand the meanings attributed to their
"life worlds" (e.g., the "bodily practices" of consensual "SM" as well as the meanings that individual
practitioners attribute to the label of "Sadomasochism"). This is also
a feminist-inspired approach to qualitative research, with its roots in Oakley’s
(1981) approach. An unstructured but focussed approach, grounded in respect for
the frame of reference of the "other," has, in my experience, led to
profound insights and revelations about the lives of my interviewees. In
communion with other feminist researchers, I consider and practice research as a
"two-way" process, which has also come to be known as "dialogic
retrospection." Humm (1989) defined this feminist-inspired concept and
research practice as: ". . . open and active exchange between the
researcher and participant in a partnership of co-research" (Humm,1989:
50).

The choice of the access methods of "snowballing" and
"relational outcropping" appeared, and turned out, to be the most
effective ones as I had to deal with a "hidden" and
"deviant" population" (Lee, 1993) with all its sociological
problems. As the topic of this research project is a sensitive one as it is, for
example, dealing with the relatively private realm of "sexuality" and
also involves "bodily practices" that are now indirectly and
selectively criminalized, obtaining data was not an easy task to undertake. As Lee
(1993: 6) has noted: ". . . sampling becomes more difficult the
more sensitive the topic under investigation, since potential informants will
have more incentive to conceal their activities."

Due to the secrecy and the resulting problem of "invisibility,"
access to the "field" was crucially dependent on the information and
trust I gained from the two "gatekeepers" I found. May (1993:
42)
defines "gatekeepers" as ". . . those who control access to the
information which the researcher seeks." In this case, access to the
population of interest was mostly conditioned by the possibilities of access
through the "gatekeepers" (one from the "bi-and
hetero"-consensual "SM-Scene" and one from the lesbian
"Butch-Scene") and the development of trust between myself as
researcher and these two "gatekeepers."

As it turned out to be difficult to sample a relatively hidden population,
Lee's (1993: 61) suggestion to employ a combination of the strategies known as
"networking" or "snowballing" and " relational
outcropping" as a strategy for ". . . sampling 'special populations' [End
page 78] which are rare and/or deviant in some way. . . " seemed to
provide an adequate approach. In order to gain more control over the referral
chains of my interviewees, I had to engage in explicit efforts to obtain
information about the "gay SM" population as well as about the more
easily obtainable data on "bi-and hetero" and
"lesbian/butch"-consensual "SM"-"body-practices."
My fieldwork data were generated through the employment of the social research
method of "participant as observer."5

The sample method I used is known as "relational outcropping." Lee
(1993: 69) describes this as ". . . one method of sampling a rare or
deviant population [which involves finding] some site in which its members congregate and to study them
there." My seeking out of "relational outcroppings" within the
"Scene" was partly limited by the code of secrecy that made some
parties and clubs unobservable to the non-member. After some time within the
"field" and the collection of a reasonable amount of qualitative data,
I followed the advice of the majority of my interviewees and started to extend
my observations to include the semi-public events of the
"SM-Fetish"-market and to focus on a particular club that was
recommended by them. As the club that was suggested to me allowed me a
possibility to "blend in" and as the problem of access was resolved by
the membership of one of my "gatekeepers," I decided to attend these
club-events several times.

Whenever I went to any of the "Scene-clubs," the group or
individuals that took me along were always informed of the purpose of my
undertaking. At the "Scene-clubs" themselves, I observed and asked
questions only when the flow of events allowed me to do so. As the people at
these clubs wanted to enjoy themselves, I had to respect their wish to
"play" without being a hinderer or a disturbance. Especially since
some of their "modes of enjoyment" are criminalized and a number of
clubs had been raided by the police, I did not want to increase the fears among
the practitioners in the club about getting "busted." I did not dress
in a typical "Dom" or "sub"-outfit but wore a rather "untelling"
black rubber dress in order to adhere to the club's often rather strict dress
codes.

It was a time of direct gestures, shameless discourse, and open
transgression, when anatomies were shown and intermingled at will . . . it
was a period when bodies "made a display of themselves (Foucault, 1990:
3).

This opening sequence of Foucault's "History of Sexuality," in
which he illustrates a view of the relationship towards "sexual"
practices at the beginning of the seventeenth century, came immediately to my
mind when I encountered the "Scene" of consensual "SM" in
London. In the so-called, "Fetish-Scene" and "SM-Scene,"
which do overlap, the exposure of bodies or body-parts and their manipulation
are also the most striking features of visual encounters. The display of
interacting bodies that indulge in erotic experiments appeared like a flight
from the everyday wholesale product "sex." As genital [End page 79]
sexuality loses its socially reinforced importance and becomes a more or
less rare by-product of the "bodily practices" within this
"Scene," I was confronted with my own internalized and limited
preconceptions about "sadomasochistic sexuality" that were based on
categories of "normalization."

The following section of this article will present findings from my social
research project. These observations reveal that the pathologizing explanations
of traditional sexology and psychology for the engagement in consensual
"SM" are wrong. This conclusion is evidenced through the direct words
of my interviewees.

MOTIVATIONS FOR THE ENGAGEMENT IN CONSENSUAL
"SM" "BODILY PRACTICES"

In this section of the paper, I discuss the most important aims mentioned by
my interviewees for engaging in consensual "SM" "bodily
practices." Altogether, five motivations were revealed through my
conversations with practitioners of consensual "SM." My informants
viewed these "bodily practices" as an alternative to "normal
genital sexuality," as "safer sex," as an exploration of the
dimensions of "lived body," as a possibility to transgress gay and
lesbian stereotypes of "sexuality," and as a possibility to experience
the transformative potentials of "lived body." In the following pages,
each of these aims will be described in turn.

A. Consensual "SM" as an alternative to "normal genital
sexuality"

For Ella the "bodily practices" of consensual "SM" were
taken up as a possibility to enhance the sex life within her long-term marriage:

Ella: "Well, I’ve been married for about thirty-two years and
really basically we started getting into it as part of our sexual play. We
started with tying each other up and doing little things and it developed
from there." (personal interview, 1997: 1).

This motivation could be understood as a choice to perform "sex
work" within the framework of marriage as elaborated by Duncombe and
Marsden (as cited in Weeks and Holland,
1996) which appears to be a quite
widespread phenomenon. The effect Ella gets from consensual "SM play,"
she describes in great detail:

Ella: ". . . relaxed and sexy. I mean I have to say obviously it
heightens up our sex life, there’s no doubt about it. I mean because when
you are doing something like that I mean it keeps you horny for days,
basically, you know. . . . you get into what you are doing, you get really
sexually ‘high’ and it gets really sexually exciting. . . . Yeah, I mean
it’s very much part of my life, it’s part of both of our [End page
80] lives because it’s important. Because sex is important to me. And
I don’t ever want to stop that. I mean it’s an enjoyable activity if you
like, if people say fishing is their hobby, o.k., sex is my hobby. But,
yeah, you do, you feel really good. It’s great" (personal interview,
1997: 7).

For the next couple the choice of alternatives to genital
"sexuality" is the main motivation for their engagement with
consensual "SM" "body practices." Bess and Tom have a
relatively new relationship; they also practice "vanilla" sex but
enjoy novelty:

For Ryan, consensual "SM" "bodily practices" also serve
as an alternative to penetrative "sexuality" which he found to be
mandatory within gay culture:

Ryan: "I suppose it started, my first sort of experiences ‘S/M’-wise,
was seeing that film called . . . [later it turns out to be Cruising].
Oh dear, the gay 'S/M' film? Oh, god, I can’t remember its name."

Andrea: "Maybe you can remember it later. Was it on TV or in the
cinema?"

Ryan: "No, in the cinema and it got a very bad reputation because it
portrayed gays as deviants and it was set in America. I can’t remember
what it was called, it’s really bad! But anyway it was 1978 and it just
came out and I was sort of, about 14, 15. . . . And then watching it and
actually being very turned on by the leather in it but also the power-games.
So I was sexually turned on. And then, another film that I saw was the . . .
"

Andrea: "Ah, 'Querelle’?"

Ryan: "Again, I got it on video and I watched it and I was just. . .
. And I suppose that sort of. . . . And then I started experimenting with
partners and to be honest I suppose I’m more interested in, you know, you’ve
heard the term ‘vanilla sex,’ yeah? I’m more interested in that sort
of, not ‘vanilla sex’, the other sort of sex" (personal interview,
1997: 1).

For Pat, the "bodily practices" of consensual "SM"
provide the possibility to have meaningful "sexuality" within an
environment of trust and safety:

Pat: ". . . you can have all of that excitement in a place where you’re
feeling trust [End page 81] and where you’re feeling safe, and
where you’re getting intense sensation and where you’re communicating on
a very intense level with the other person. And I think, I mean that’s
what people want from sex, isn’t it? They want to communicate in an
intense way with another person that they care about and that cares about
them and that they trust. And that’s what they want from sex, isn’t it?
I mean apart from casual sex, but that’s what people want from life.
Meaningful sex – and that’s what I get from S/M" (personal
interview, 1997: 8).

For Bette, consensual "SM" and "ordinary sex" are similar
in that both ". . . happen to utilize sort of extreme physical sensations
in order to bring pleasure . . ." (personal interview, 1996: 1) but with very distinctive features. The meaning
and existential importance of communication between the partners engaged appears
to Bette a point of difference:

Bette: "I think that "SM"-sex in a way is more conscious,
more verbal and non-verbal communication between people throughout. I mean
if somebody is being beaten, you ought to be looking at the person and
trying to get it absolutely right. I mean that should be true in ordinary
sex as well but I think it’s more true of "SM"-sex than any
other sex. . . . Men just go for their own pleasure. I think that part of
the thing is the difference between intercourse and beating somebody; with
intercourse, man having intercourse with a woman, there’s a very direct
sexual path, there’s a very sexually fixed pleasure. And therefore he has
a motive for just getting what he wants. But if what he does is not directly
genital or sexual. I mean it may give immense satisfaction, but the
satisfaction it will give will be in the communication with the other
person. The fact to get it right with the other person. The fact that it’s
turning the other person on. Unless this man is just violent. But assuming
it’s a proper "SM"-person. There isn’t a direct path . .
." (personal interview, 1996: 5).

Therefore, Bette concludes that empathy is more crucial in consensual
"SM" than in "ordinary sex" as consensual "SM"
depends directly on the communication between the partners; otherwise, it would
not work out.

It appears as if the shortcomings of the "Sexual Revolution," with
its focus on the goal of "heterosexual intercourse" that was to be
achieved through the means of "foreplay," have been individually as
well as socially recognized and alternatives have been found at the former
fringes of "sexuality." The ideological and socially constructed
"sexuality" has been found to be unsatisfying as well as limiting; in
Bette’s opinion: ". . . a lot of people miss out enormously on sex.
Particularly men do, particularly heterosexual men do" (personal interview,
1996: 7). After reading the Hite Report on Male Sexuality, Bette was
astonished: [End page 82]

Bette: "It’s just so tragic in a way how limited, what they appear
to enjoy is. And how little use, you know, they are just so genitally
orientated. It’s just so terribly, terribly sad. You just think, what they
are missing out on. You haven’t explored your mind or other parts of the
body. Have you not been taught about being fucked yourself or what about
your nipples. I mean all you do is with your penises. It’s so sad. I mean
putting your penis in isn’t much communication. And I mean sex doesn’t
have to be like that. And being a man doesn’t have to be like that"
(personal interview, 1996: 7).

This comment has clear parallels to Michel Foucault’s (1990) criticism of
the genital fixation in the concept of "sexuality" and its effects of
domination, which often led (leads), for example, to "dominating body
usages" on the side of human beings that had to prove (or maintain) their
socially constructed "masculinity," thus preventing
"communicative body usages."

B. Consensual "SM" "bodily practices" as "safer
sex"

As several interviewees mentioned the possibility that the rising interest in
consensual "SM" could be related to AIDS, I asked for Bette’s
opinion and she replied: "Oh, absolutely. Because it’s so, I mean we don’t
know of any case at all, where it’s been caught in that way" (personal
interview, 1996: 11). Bette engages in consensual "SM" as well as
"ordinary sex" and notices that the feelings afterwards can be quite
different, more obligating after "ordinary sex." She added:

Bette: ". . . it’s also a slight danger that you might catch
something or get pregnant or something like that if you do something like
that. There were two other equivalent people who I’ve done the opposite, I’ve
done not 'SM' but been to bed with. Sort of younger men, I mean that was fun
but on the other hand. I mean it didn’t change our relationship, I mean in
some way it did change, but it was: ‘What if I get pregnant? What if I get
HIV?’ I mean we did use condoms, it was okay. But these were two other gay
men. But it’s not as carefree. The thing about 'SM,' as long as it’s
properly regulated, you don’t injure somebody, it’s completely harmless.
You cannot catch anything, you can’t get pregnant, nothing can happen. So
it’s a very easy thing to do" (personal interview, 1996: 11).

Ros Coward views the emergence of AIDS as creating a crisis but also as
potentially causing a "sexual revolution" since:

Women have been bearing the brunt of making sex safe for men in the past.
. . . But now, suddenly, it’s a matter of life and death to men
that they abandon their historical privilege of spontaneous sex and assume
personal responsibility for their actions . . . sexuality could be redefined
as something other than male [End page 83] discharge into any kind of
receptacle. In this new context where penetration might literally spell
death, there is a chance for a massive relearning about sexuality (as quoted
in McEwen & O’Sullivan, 1988:
57-8).

Jane confirmed that responsibility and "safe sex" are important
issues in the "Scene," more so than in mainstream society:

Jane: ". . . it’s a lot better, I mean, I much rather go to a
party that is an 'SM'-party than a ‘normal’ party because, you know,
that if somebody harasses you, that’s considered unacceptable and it’s
going to be dealt with. People are much more responsible usually about sex and there’s a lot more emphasis on safe
sex" (personal interview, 1997: 7).

Apart from individual self responsibility, which appears to be increased
within the "Scene," Jane mentioned that there is always the pressure
of "significant others:" "Peer pressure to behave. So people who
may be not necessarily sensible and respectful will be pressured into behaving
like that" (personal interview, 1997: 7).

[I]t would be difficult to imagine a more powerful or urgent
demonstration than the AIDS crisis of the need to conceptualize sexuality,
after the manner of Foucault, as "an especially concentrated point of
traversal [point de passage] for relations of power" (Halperin,
1995: 27).

The "sexual" politics of AIDS employed modes of empowering
knowledge in combination with the traditional modes of authorization and
legitimization – power in order to administrate the public and private
"body" and its pleasures. In other words all the modalities of
"bio-power" (Foucault. 1990) were applied in the fight for medical
"truth" and social regulation. As Foucault has observed:

[R]epression is always a part of a much more complex strategy regarding
sexuality. Things are not merely repressed. There is about sexuality a lot
of defective regulations in which the negative effects of inhibition are
counterbalanced by the positive effects of stimulation (as quoted in Kritzman, 1990:
9).

The "change in the economics of sexual behavior in society" that
Foucault talks about in this interview was also to occur through the AIDS
epidemic and its "better late than never," "safe-sex"
campaigns. The educational initiative to prevent the further contamination of
people with the HIV virus was very much focussed on the use of alternative
methods of sexual interaction in preference to penetrative "ordinary
sex" in order to avoid any direct contacts with body fluids, especially
blood. Therefore, diverse [End page 84] suggestions were presented to the
scared public on how to have "great sex without being at risk" and the
involvement of fantasy and toys was promoted. As Swartz has made plain: "It
is the plague time. It is possible to eroticize latex. It’s the only
responsible thing to do. Exchanging fluids is suicide" (as quoted in
Califia & Sweeney, 1996: 177).

I consider one effect of preventing unsafe sex through educational sex
discourse on a broad and public level to be the rising interest in consensual
"SM" and "Fetishism." The intensification of both anxiety
and of newly discovered pleasures was, in my opinion, the result of the societal
reaction to AIDS. As Singer points out:

The ideology of safe sex encourages a reorganization of the body away
from the erotic priorities with which it has already been inscribed. Specifically,
safe sex advocates indulgence in numerous forms of non-genital contact and
the reengagement of parts of the body marginalized by an economy of genital
primacy. . . . Safe sex presumes that pleasure [better: desire – A. B.]
and practice can be reorganized in response to overriding utilities and
presumes, as well, the capacity of regimentary procedures to construct a
body capable of taking pleasure in this new form of discipline. Unless
bodies and pleasures are politically determined, they can not be
redetermined, even in cases where that is what rational prudence would
demand. The success of this strategy will thus depend not only on
promulgating these techniques, but also on circulating a discourse that
allows individuals to reconsider their bodies in a more liberatory and
strategic way (as quoted in Butler &
MacGrogan, 1993: 122).

C. The "bodily practices" of consensual "SM" as
exploration of the dimensions of "lived body"

For Jane, consensual "SM" allows her to experience her "lived
body’s" sensuality as well as emotions. Jane’s motivation is the
exploration of sensuality: "I enjoy everything that is sensually exciting
and new . . . exploring feelings, emotional feelings. Having fun really, I think
it’s great fun" (personal interview, 1997: 1). Apart from being a
strategy for drawing a borderline between reality and fantasy, consensual
"SM" also serves Anthony as a space for exploration of
"bodily" possibilities and choice:

Anthony: "But we have to also separate fantasy from reality, I think
that’s what 'SM' does for me as an individual. And also it is, I want to
explore lots and lots of things, whether it’s 'SM,' being tiedup, watersports, or whether it’s scatting – it provides this
space. Where I can say this is for me or this is not for me, you know what I’m
saying?" (personal interview, 1997: 2).

For some practitioners consensual "SM" provides a space which is
free of taboos [End page 85] and the ordinary conventions of keeping a
"face" (Goffman, 1967):

Mike: "The major thing I get from it is a tremendous sense of
release and freedom. Because it’s something that you can get into a very
sort of primitive relationship with someone. It’s very physical and it
deals with very sort of dark elements. And it’s a place, where you let it
all go."

Andrea: "You don’t have to pretend anything?"

Mike: "No, you don’t have to pretend. So, no one is gonna judge
you. People are not gonna say: ‘You are weird,’ when you’re in a ‘Scene’
with someone" (personal interview, 1997: 3).

Some informants regarded consensual "SM" as a possibility to
transgress set limits of "political correctness" through these
"bodily practices:"

Anthony: "I did work around cross-dressing and drag. It was at a
time I found cross-dressing and drag interesting for me. And then the work
comes through that as well. 'SM' came into my work, I made photographs and I
found it interesting. I was also meeting other black men within various
spaces, who were into it. I’m actually curious by nature anyway. And I
thought: ‘What is this shit about?,’ basically. And also about three
years ago there was a lesbian and gay exhibition in the Brixton Art Gallery
and on the invite it said that non-'SM'-related work would be accepted. And
I felt concerned, here you have a platform for gay men and they say what is
accepted and what is not. And I think that was another reason to say: ‘Well,
push those boundaries a bit further as well.’ I do believe 'SM' and black
people creates problematics for lots of black people. But those people miss
an argument. First of all, there is a consent, whereas slavery wasn’t with
consent" (personal interview, 1997: 3).

D. The "bodily practices" of consensual "SM" as a
possibility to transgress gay and lesbian stereotypes of "sexuality"

What I think is interesting now in relation to lesbian S/M is that they
can get rid of certain stereotypes of femininity that have been used in the
lesbian movement; a strategy that the movement has erected from the past.
This strategy has been based on their oppression. But now, maybe, these
tools, these weapons are obsolete. We can see that lesbian S/M tried to get
rid of all those old stereotypes of femininity, of anti-male attitude and so
on (Foucault; as quoted in Lotringer, 1991: 387).

Through the experiences I gained within the field of lesbian as well as gay
consensual [End page 86] "SM," I suggest that Foucault’s
comments are also valid for gay practitioners of these "bodily
practices," as Ryan’s example shows. During an interview with Ryan, who
does not approve of labels because he finds them limiting, he brought up the
topic of gay stereotyping and the "liberating effect" of consensual
"SM:"

Ryan: "What I found, Andrea, on the 'Scene,' when I first started,
when we were young on the gay 'Scene' is that, I’ve never been into
penetrative sex, being penetrated, not because of being raped or anything
like that, I’ve just never been inclined. And I find it painful, you know,
when people try to, I’ve never found any pleasure in that. What I find,
when I was on the 'Scene,' when I was young, older men just wanted to do
that to you. And this was just pre-AIDS, yeah? Late seventies, early
eighties? So in a way ‘SM’-sex has actually helped me get round it.
Because I remember, when I was very young, before I went to college in '82, you know, my first sexual experiences, when I was about fourteen to
eighteen that I was getting a bit depressed, thinking: ‘Oh, I’m not
really gay because I don’t get fucked.’ You know, or: ‘I don’t want
to fuck.’ And I suppose ‘SM’-sex, as you say, was like a trigger of
wakening me, to have a sexual possibility, which I found much more
interesting."

Andrea: "So it does not only overcome hetero-categories of sexuality
but also gay categories of sexuality?"

Ryan: "Yeah, gay, gay, what’s the word now? Gay stereotyping, you
know, that we’re all into anal sex. That’s why a lot of heterosexual men
are wary of gay men, 'cause they feel that all they want to do is just ‘bugger’
them. And that’s not, that’s not, you know, for me, it’s never been .
. . I mean I have been, I have had anal sex but very few, very few
occasions" (personal interview, 1997: 6).

E. Consensual "SM" as a possibility to experience the
transformative potentials of "lived body"

Bette enjoys many variations of sex. An important motivation for her to
engage in consensual "SM" is the relaxation she obtains from doing it,
which she illustrated with an example:

Bette: "I mean I find that kind of sex [consensual 'SM'] very
relaxing. I’ve got a serious eye condition, and I had some laser treatment
in the hospital. Physically, it’s not that painful but very upsetting. I
was very uptight. It’s quite a nasty thing to have done. This woman, X,
came around and . . . she ended up beating me. And it was mainly
unbelievably relaxing."

Andrea: "It can release you from tension?" [End page 87]

Bette: "Yeah, absolutely. I just think, physically, if it’s done
well, you know, it’s very similar to being caressed. I mean I was covered
in bruises, it was quite a . . . I mean it wasn’t an enormously heavy but
it was fairly heavy, it wasn’t a light ‘Scene.’ Also, if you get
injuries in that way, they don’t hurt which I think is very interesting .
. . It has certainly a big spiritual element to it" (personal
interview, 1996: 6).

The spiritual dimension of these "bodily practices," mentioned
explicitly here, is elaborated upon in my thesis, but as it would take up too
much space within the context of this paper, I will leave this interesting issue
aside for now.

Apart from experiencing sensations of release and freedom, Henry, Pat, John,
and Mike enjoy testing and transgressing their own limits as well as transforming
the sensations to which they expose themselves:

Mike: ". . . you can just get on and do things that feel good and
that are a lot of fun and that push your limits. To see, you know, what you
can actually take. And for me it’s a case of what I can take and whether I
can convert that sensation into something enjoyable. So, there is a lot of,
sort of, personal combat and willpower involved, I suppose" (personal
interview, 1997: 3).

The motivations to engage in consensual "SM" cited above illustrate
that, apart from being rooted in a contemporary cultural goal centered on the
primacy of "fulfilling sexual experiences" which is achieved by means
of consensual "SM," a lot of practitioners are interested in the
exploration of the dimensions and potential limits of their "lived
bodies" by means of these "bodily practices." In that way they
experience and potentially change their "life-world" in a manner
outlined in The Visible and the Invisible by Merleau-Ponty (1968:
135):
"The thickness of the body, far from rivaling that of the world, is on the
contrary the sole means I have to go unto the heart of things, by making myself
a world and by making them flesh."

CONCLUSION

Categorizations like the two that follow should be an item in the past of
modernity. Under the heading "Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders,"
within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(American Psychiatric Association, 1994:
233-51), the reader will find a list of
"paraphilias:"

302.83 Sexual Masochism – (A) Over a period of at least 6
months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or
behaviors involving the act (real, or simulated) of being humiliated,
beaten, bound, or otherwise made [End page 88] to suffer. (B) The
fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress
or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of
functioning.

302.84 Sexual Sadism – (A) Over a period of at least 6 months,
recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors
involving acts (real, or simulated) in which the psychological or physical
suffering (including humiliation) of the victim is sexually exciting to the
person. (B) The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically
significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 1994:
245).

As seen through the excursions presented in this article, first into the
societal commodification of elements of "SM" and the rising interest in
consensual "SM" and then into the "life worlds" of
consensual "SM," the labeling, exclusion, and selective
criminalization of consensual "SM" as "deviance" and
"pathology" does not make any sense, as many elements of consensual
"SM" are part of the "subterranean values" of society. What
is problematic about the commodification of elements of consensual
"SM," apart from the fact that it is just another tool of consumerism,
is the fact that it is decontextualized:

[D]ynamic reciprocity lies at the heart of S/M and it structures all of
its philosophy and actions . . . such reciprocity couldn’t exist without
mutual concern and respect. And it is these three fundamental tenets of the
S/M Scene – reciprocity, concern and respect – which make the
stereotyped public perception of such activities so erroneous (Polhemus
& Randall, 1994: 113-14).

As my conversations with participants in London's "Scene" attest,
the "bodily practices" of consensual "SM" provide the
"players" with the possibility to appropriate for themselves
strategies and positions of power, as well as "technologies of
government," which usually serve to effect states of domination and the
establishment of authority, in order to produce individual states of
"bodily pleasure." The experimental games of consensual "SM"
further allow for the discovery of new intensities, the diverse dimensions and
potentials of "lived bodies," as well as the development of contextual
ethics; thus, they do have the potential to bring about a "political
spirituality" on a practical level which would involve a "questioning
through which people might start to depart from the historical limits of their
identifications" (Rajchman, 1991: 108).

Contemporary understandings and representations of the "body" and
"sexuality," especially those oriented to consumer culture, fail to
make their objects meaningful. In comparison to these, the richness of meaning
as well as the complexity of existential interaction and communication (both
verbal and non-verbal) that characterized the [End page 89] empirical
world of consensual "SM" in London, makes the rising interest and
potential engagement in these "bodily practices" more understandable.
Although it is, on the one hand, beneficial that the notion of "kinky
sex" now allows for more diversity in "sexual" encounters, the
negative side of this development is obviously that the selectivity of this
proliferation of images and discourse distorts social reality and thus
neutralizes the potential for resistance that, as argued in my thesis, is
inherent in consensual "SM."

Even the "risk" involved within some consensual "SM"
would not justify the "pathologization" or "criminalization"
of practitioners. As within many areas of social life, the experience of
"risk" as excitement has become a commodity, ready to be marketed. In
Western consumer cultures the experience of risk within the areas of sport practices and other leisure activities is in high demand. This tendency to
promote high-risk sports as thrills seems to attract large numbers of mainstream
members of society; and as these activities, although "risky," still serve the
"normalizing" aims of consumption, they are legal. Risks, as well as
risk products, seem therefore to function as social distinguishers in terms of
cultural capital in contemporary culture. If "risk" taking functions
as a form of "cultural capital" and is by now commodified in many
ways, the criminalization of the "bodily practices" of consensual
"SM," on the grounds of potential risks to health and safety, appears
like a political judgment in pursuit of the "normalization" of
"lived bodies." [End page 90]

1. Since the R. v. Brown case (1992-93) and the subsequent decision of
the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (1997), the effects of the
social censure of "Sadomasochism" have been intensified as they have
been reinforced through the legal agencies of social control. Practitioners of
consensual "bodily practices" labeled "Sadomasochism" are
now in danger of being prosecuted once their enacted "plays"
("Scenes") leave wounds that are not "trifling or
transient." Three of the men who were convicted by the United Kingdom
courts took their cases to the European Court of Human Rights in the hope to get
their verdicts overruled on the ground that it breached Article 8 of the
European Human Rights Convention. The decision of the European Court of Human
Rights (February 19, 1997) to officially criminalize the "bodily
practices" of consensual "SM," even though undertaken in the
private sphere and without the causation of serious injury, violates the human
right to privacy and makes the right over one's body questionable. Article 8 of
the European Human Rights Convention states that: "Everyone has the right
to respect for his private and family life, his home and his
correspondence." The Strasbourg court based their decision that the British
ruling was justified on the exception to the Article that covers "the
protection of health." If consent forms a defense to assault charges in
other instances, like for example contact sports or operations for medical or
aesthetic reasons, the judgment appears to be primarily moralistic and
"bio-political" (Foucault, 1990).

2. As these websites move, change, or at times even stop to exist, the
website addresses provided might be subject to change.

3. In 1987 a police operation called "Operation Spanner" acquired
private videotapes which showed nearly fifty gay men involved in consensual
"SM" "Scenes." Sixteen of these men were then arrested. In
the years 1990-91 the trial against these sixteen men took place. They were
facing charges under Sections 20 and 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act
1861. The initial trial judge ruled that consent was no defense to a charge of
assault (Thompson, 1994: 3) and therefore the defendants, who at first had
pleaded not guilty, had to change their pleas. On December 19, 1990 they were
formally convicted. The ruling of the initial judge included the declaration:
". . . that it was the role of the court to draw the line between what was
and was not acceptable in a civilized society, and that as sadomasochism was
'degrading and vicious' it was on the wrong side of the line" (as quoted in
Thompson, 1994: 4). At the Court of Appeal the decision was later on upheld. [End
page 91]

Consensual "SM" "bodily practices" should have never been
subject to an assault charge as it involves consent as well as that the pain
inflicted is actually perceived as pleasurable by the practitioners themselves.
As with other categories of "perversion," official bodies of social
control presumed non-consent and based their decisions on the presumption of
violence, instead of acknowledging consensual pleasure. It was a victimless
crime because no one complained of an offense being committed and because no
one's privacy or decency was invaded by the consensual, private
"plays" of these men. Therefore, the "masochists" were, and
had to be, constructed as the "victims," even though ". . . the
majority of the defendants [like most of my interviewees – AB] were in the
habit of switching roles" (Thompson, 1994: 6).

Importantly, the individual psychological and social harms that were the
effects of the "Spanner" trial, and thus of the official social
reaction towards consensual "SM" and not the effects of the
consensual "play," were high as all of the defendants lost their jobs,
several were thrown out of their flats, and all of them were "outed"
as "perverts." Three of these men were convicted and jailed for
assault on consenting participants during the practice of consensual
"SM" and later took their cases to the European Court of Human Rights.

4. In Quantity and Quality in Social Research Bryman
(1988) describes
one of the crucial advantages of the unstructured but topic-focussed form of
interviewing in comparison to structured or semi-structured interview forms.
Although it has an open-ended character: ". . . rambling can be viewed as
providing information because it reveals something about the interviewee's
concerns. Unstructured interviewing in qualitative research, then, departs from
survey interviewing not only in terms of format, but also in terms of its
concern for the perspective of those being interviewed" (Bryman,1988:
47).

5. The role of "participant as observer" implies, according to May
(1993: 117), that ". . . a person adopts an overt role and makes her or his
presence and intentions known to the group . . ." and that ". . .
during the process of observation the attempt to form a series of relationships
with the subjects such that they serve as both respondents and informants . . .
" is made. [End page 92]